Weighing-scales for suspension tramways



(No Model.) W. J. MILLER.

I VYEIGHING SCALES FOR SUSPENSION TRA MWAYSS.

No. 411,507. Patented Sept. '24, 1889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFIGE.

WILLIAM J. MILLER, OF MAMARONECK, NEWV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO E. & T.FAIRBANKS & COMPANY, OF ST. JOHNSBURY, VERMONT.

WEIGHING-SCALES FOR SUSPENSION TRAMWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 411,507, datedSeptember 24, 1889.

Application filed July 1, 1889. Serial No. 316,224. (No model.)

'a specification.

This invention relates to scales for weighing goods which are beingcarried by trolleys running on overhead rails, such as are used inslaughter-houses, foundries, packing-establishments, &c. It is usualwith such scales to construct a short section of the track-rail or trackseparate from the adjoining fixed sections or rails and to suspend thissection from the system of compound levers ordinarily used inweighing-scales. The trolley is run onto this movable section of rail,so that its weight hangs suspended from the weighinglevers, and whileinthis position it is weighed, after which the trolley is pushed along onthe track. Scales of this character as heretofore constructed haveeither been very com pli cated or else have been wanting insensitiveness by reason. of the friction of the devices employed toresist the side-thrust to which the movable section of the rail isliable, whereby it tends to move out of line with the fixed rails.

My invention aims to simplify the weighing apparatus and avoid any suchside-thrust, and thereby render the apparatus sensitive by theelimination of the friction that has heretofore been encountered inovercoming such thrust.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of myimproved scale, partly in vertical section, taken generally in the planeof the lines 11 in Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of theapparatus. Fig. 3

is a plan thereof. Fig. i is a fragmentary elevation, on a larger scale,looking in the same direction as Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a plan and sideelevation of a detail on the same scale as Fig. 4.

The fixed rails of the overhead tramway or track are shown at A. A inFigs. 2 and 3. No

means for supporting them is here shown, as

that forms no part of my invention. Between these rails is the movablesection of rail B,

' the fixed frame-work.

which is fixed to two bent frames 0 C, which are carried back of thevertical plane of the rail suflicientiy far to avoid interfering withthe trolley during the passage of the latter.

.The position of the trolley is indicated in full lines in Fig.1.

, fulcrumed by being hung by links from eyes d, attached to a cross-bare, forming part of The rear or front end of the lever D is hung by linksf from alever F, which is fulcrumed at its middle by means of a link g,suspended from and attached to an arched frame 71, constituting alsopart of the fixed framework. From the opposite or front end of the leverF is hung a link 71, and a rod j engages this link and is connectedthrough a link it at its bottom end with a lever H. This lever isfulcrumed by a linkl to a cross-piece 'm, constituting a portion of thefixed frame-work, and its rear end is jointed to a rod 02, from which ishung a weight w, and which rod extends up through a table or plate G,and is hung by a link 19 from the scale-beam J, which is fulcrumed to alink q, hung from a track 7', forming also part of the fixed frame-work.

The scale-beam J has the usual adjustable weights 8 s, and iscounterweighted at its front end by weights IV in the ordinary mannor.All the link-connections referred to are vertical side barsK, extendingfrom the up per to the middle tie-bar L of an upper crossbar Kconnecting the upper ends of the vertical bars, and of a lower T-shapedframe or plate K the horizontal part of which extends between the lowerends of the bars K K, while the vertical part extends down and at itslower end is bolted to the lower tie-bar L. Two main brackets M M arebolted to the frame K and support the cross-bar e at their outer endsand the arched cross-bar h at their middles. Two smaller brackets N Nare bolted to the lower or vertical part of the T-shaped frame K andsupport the plate G and the cross-bar m.

In scales of this character the movable rail B requires to be so mountedor guided that it is incapable of moving or swinging out of line withthe rails A A, as otherwise the trolleys would run oif the track. Toprevent this, various arrangements of stays have been adopted. In myimproved scale the stays for preventing this lateral swinging consist ofrods t t, which are arranged preferably in a hori-. zontal plane andextending in directions at right angles to the longitudinal direction ofthe. rail B. The respective rods t t connect with the respective ends ofthe rail B in order to prevent displacement of either end thereof. Therods extend between the trackplates 2b to, connected to the mainbrackets M M, respectively, and plates 1; o, connected to the frames 0C, respectively. These plates at and o are all alike, one of them beingshown detached in Fig. 5. Each plate has two pins u, projectingvertically from it. The stayrods 25 are formed with eyes at their endswhich drop over these pins, that at one end engaging the pin of theplate to and that of the other the pin of the plate o. The eyes are madewith V-edges to reduce the friction to the minimum, and there issuificient looseness or lost motion between the eyes and pins to admitof a slight degree of swaying of the rail B- in order not to bring thebearing-surfaces of the eyes and pins into frictional con; tact untilthe swaying motion of the rail reaches its limit.

For preventing longitudinal swaying movement of the rail B, which wouldbring the two ends into contact with the ends of the ascending fixedrails A A and thereby cause friction which would impair thesensitiveness of the scale, one or two longitudinal tie-bars y y, (twobeing employed by preference, as

shown,) each of which connects by an eye at one end with one of the pinsto on one of the bracket-plates u, and extends thence diagonally to. thebracket *0 at the opposite end of the. rail B, with which bracket-plateits opposite end' connects in the same manner. There is the same lostmotion in these tiebars to permit the rail B to hang and swing freelywithin certain limits.

Because of the necessary curving of the frames C C to the rear, taken inconnection from this that the rail B tends normally to swing out oflateral line with the rails A A,

and consequently exerts a continual stressupon the stay-bars t t, whichstress is not overcome but is more or less reduced in proportion by theadditional weight superposed upon the rail B when the trolley is runonto it for weighing. To the extent that this side-thrust inducesfriction it interferes with the accuracy of the weighing. This has beenafruitful source of difliculty heretofore, and several complicatedstructures have been devised for overcoming it, such as the extending ofthe top of the frame 0 O to'both sides after the manner of a T-frame andsuspending both ends thereof by links from terminal levers D of theweighing apparatus, there being two of these levers instead of one, andthe levers being turned with their free ends toward each other, beingfulcru med on axes extending transversely of the plane of the .railBinstead of parallel therewith. According tov my invention I overcomethis difficulty in a very simple manner by providing counter-weights P Pfor the frames 0 0 connected thereto through the medium of sliding rodsw, as best .shown in Figs. 1 and 4, adjustable out or in to vary thedistance of the counter-weight 1 from the pivotal plane, and fastened byset- Q screws 00'. I counter-weights the center of gravity of the jsuspended structure B O O P Pcan be brought By the proper adjustment ofthese exactly into the vertical plane of suspension, so that the rail Bwill tend to. hang exactly in line with the rails A A, and will'exert noside-thrust whatever against the stays; hence the scale is rendered assensitive as possible and all friction heretofore introduced to at tainsuch sensitiveness is avoided. This counterbalancing of the suspendedstructure It will be understood that my invention may be applied if oneof the fixed rails A be omitted, the scale in such case being arrangedat the terminals of the track or of a switch therefrom.

I claim as my invention the following de- I fined novel features andcombinations, substantially as hereinbefore specified, namely: 1. Thecombination, with the fixed rails of a tramway and a system ofcompoundlevers,

of a movable rail and a supporting-frame therefor suspended beneath theterminal 1e ver of the compound-lever system in such ally, and saidframe counterbalanced to cause the movable rail to gravitate to aposition directly beneath its point of suspension.

2. The combination, with the fixed rails of a tramway and a system ofcompound weighing-levers, of a movable rail, two supportingframes forthe opposite ends thereof bent to one side of the vertical plane of therail and suspended directly thereover from the terminal lever of thecompound-lever system, and a counter-weight for said frame..projectingto the opposite side of the vertical plane of the rail and connected tothe frames through the medium of an adjustable connection, whereby itsposition may be shifted to bring the center of gravity of the suspendedrail and its frames into the vertical plane of the rail and therebycause the movable rail to gravitate to a position directly beneath itspoints of suspension.

3. The combination, with the fixed rails A A of a tramway and a terminallever D and scale-beam J of a compound-lever weighing system, of amovable rail B, its suspensionframes 0, links a a, suspending them fromthe lever D, and counter-weights P P, adjustably connected to saidframes through the medium of bars cc 0:.

4. The combination, with the fixed rails of a tramway and a system ofcompound weighing-levers, of a movable rail and its supporting-framessuspended beneath the terminal lever of said compound-lever system and 35 counterbalanced to bring the center of gravity of the suspendedstructure in the vertical plane of the movable rail, and stay-barsconnecting the movable rail to a fixed part in order to limit itsswaying movement and retain it in line wit-h the fixed rails.

5. The combination, with the fixed rails of a tramway, of a movable railB, its suspensionframes 0 C, terminating over it and counterbalanced tobring their center of gravity into the vertical planeof the movablerail, and the terminal lever D of the system of compound weighing-leversformed with two arms spread apartat their fulcrumed ends and suspendedon afulcrum-axis extending parallel with the vertical plane of themovable rail, and the suspension-frames of said rail connected to saidarms of the lever adjacent to their fulcra and the arms of the leverunited at its opposite or free end and there connected to the next leverof the compoundlever system.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

GEORGE H. FRASER, JNo. E. GAVTN.

